This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This NCRR collaborative project has focused on the proteome characterization of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF is routinely sampled in clinical medicine to help determine and monitor the presence of illness in the brain or spinal cord. Clinicians usually measure the total protein concentration for this purpose since very little is known about the protein composition, or proteome, of CSF in normal or disease states. Much of the current knowledge about CSF is based upon 2D gel analysis techniques which are severely limited in both sensitivity and throughput. The overall goals of the research proposed in this study are twofold: (1) determine, as possible, the content and distribution of proteins in "normal" human CSF for the creation of an accurate mass and time (AMT) tag database for future quantitative, high sensitivity LC-MS studies;and (2) evaluate how the content and abundance of proteins in CSF are altered in specific diseases of the brain and spinal cord.